This blog is posted from a now retired 33 year CAW (now UNIFOR) member. The purpose of this blog is to allow others to see the perspective of the average worker, rather than the views of the Union Leadership If you have any concerns or comments on this blog, contact me at Email:paulsblues45@hotmail.com
On Twitter: @PaulinAjax

Sunday, August 9, 2009

The Toronto Star Never Let's It's Own Facts Get In The Way.....

Uber-Liberal so-called Newspaper the Toronto Star does it again, succeeding in bashing the Conservative government even though it's own editorial contradicts itself. The Star ran an editorial about the July job losses as reported by Statscan, with 45,000 jobs reported lost. So how does the Star paint this? well, they try and give the Liberal (NDP) EI proposals a push with this BS:

"The rolls of the unemployed in Canada continue to grow – by another 45,000 last month, according to a Statistics Canada report yesterday. Many or most of them won't be eligible for employment insurance (EI), due to the program's Byzantine eligibility requirements. There are 58 regional variations, with the minimum hours of work required to be eligible for EI ranging from 420 to 910.

But the Conservative government in Ottawa continues to play political games with this issue. And the premiers failed to address it in any meaningful way at their annual conference this week in Regina.

In June, the Conservatives made a deal with the opposition Liberals setting up a joint task force to consider reforms to EI. It is now obvious, however, that the task force was no more than a political feint to avert an election this summer. After just its second meeting this week, a Liberal member was reported saying that the Conservatives were not bringing any ideas to the table."

No mention of the current rules being put in place by the Liberal government of Chretien/Martin at a time of 10%+ unemployment. Quoting a "Liberal member" for criticism of the Conservative government as fact. Gee guys, ever heard of political partisanship? Both valid points when critiquing the editorial. But here is the biggest problem with the whole thing. It's this line here:

" Many or most of them won't be eligible for employment insurance (EI), due to the program's Byzantine eligibility requirements."

Most of them won't qualify for EI? Really. The problem is in the Star's ongoing quest to praise anything Liberal, including Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, they add this gem: "McGuinty has good reason to seek reform, given that barely one-third of the unemployed in Ontario qualify for EI. In this respect, Ontario trails behind other provinces, notably its neighbour, Quebec – even though Ontario now has a higher unemployment rate (9.3 per cent, compared to 9 per cent in Quebec)."

Hmmm, Might be a bit of a problem now. So the Star claims Ontario workers only maintain a 33% rate of qualifying, and Quebec workers fare far better. Statscan reported that the majority of the jobs lost, 38,100, were in Quebec. So the Star says we need EI reforms as proposed by Iggy. States that Ontario gets a raw deal in EI qualifying compared to Quebec, who have a much easier time of qualifying. States that most of those workers who lost their jobs won't qualify for EI. Never mentions almost all the jobs lost were in Quebec, and does state that Quebec's workers find it much easier to qualify. So if Ontario qualifies at a rate of 33%, and Quebec is much higher, how is it that most of those laid off workers in July won't qualify?

Maybe the next time the Star writes an editorial, they could be a little more accurate with the actual facts and numbers, and a little less zealous in their partisan attempts at helping the Ontario and federal Liberal parties. And they wonder why readership numbers are in the tank.

p.s. Maybe it's just me, but can anyone explain the reference to the rules as Byzantine, which is a name given to the Roman Empire?

Funny too how the Star doesn't point out that Iffy's 'EI360 exclusions' means many of those 45K (july) that won't get EI under the old Liberal system won't get it under 'His' reforms either.Students.And so August/Sept job numbers are poised to look pretty good.

Not picked up (except NNW, and now not there) is this article from the Montreal Gazette.RAIN folks, bad for tourism, bad for constuction, explains Quebec bearing the lions share of the job 'losses'.

'...Cross's interpretation is shared by Montreal-based economist Yanick Desnoyers at the National Bank, even though Quebec suffered the country's worst job destruction by far, a stunning 37,100. Desnoyers points out that the Quebec losses most likely don't represent a weakening economy, merely the record July rainfall that temporarily devastated employment in tourism....http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/fp/gloom+passing+cloud/1872941/story.html

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